2019 Robby Gordon Headquarters
Robby Gordon is one of the greatest drivers ever, except in NASCAR
http://beyondthetrack.blogspot.com/2008/11/robby-gordon-is-one-of-g...
Despite his lack of success in the #7 car (above) in the Cup series, Robby Gordon has overall racing credentials that are hard to match in the Cup garage.
Those who only follow NASCAR probably don’t know this, but Robby Gordon is one of the greatest racecar drivers ever.
That #7 car you see getting lapped every week in the Cup series is being driven by a man with more racing accomplishments than almost all of his competitors, with the exception of Tony Stewart and perhaps a couple others.
A true racer who is truly dedicated to racing and winning, and always hates to give up a spot (just ask any Cup star who has tried to lap him lately), Gordon hurried off to race off-road in the Baja 1000 immediately after the Homestead race ended last week. If he could race every weekend, he would. It’s what he does and he does it very well.
Robby, usually known in NASCAR circles as the “other Gordon,” is the only Gordon most people in the worldwide racing community usually mention when compiling a list of great overall driver talents. For those of you who already think I’m crazy because of Robby’s lack of success in Cup, here are some career stats for you that might change your mind:
-- 6 SCORE International (off-road) championships
-- 3 Baja 1000 wins
-- 3 Dakar Rally stage wins
-- 4 class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona
-- 3 class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring
-- 3 Sprint Cup wins
-- 1 Daytona Twin-125 win
-- 1 Nationwide win
-- 2 CART wins
No one can look at this list and say that Robby is anything but an ace in front of the steering wheel. He’s won in almost every area of motorsport all over the world. But you’ll notice a theme among his accomplishments … they usually involve right turns.
Since making his debut in NASCAR’s top series at the 1991 Daytona 500, Gordon has been in and out of the sport a few times, driving for many different teams (including filling in at Robert Yates Racing immediately after the death of Davey Allison). His most successful period came in the early part of the 2000s, when he drive for Richard Childress Racing and earned three victories.
One was the Thanksgiving week race in New Hampshire which had been postponed after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, and came after he bumped the other Gordon, who was still NASCAR's dominant driver at the time, out of the way to win. The other two came on more familiar territory, road courses, but Gordon seemed to have found a home at Childress and be on the road to stability at the Cup level.
But like any truly great racer, Robby is thickheaded and has certainly pissed off more than a few people in his career. Many feel he races overaggressively on the track, and one of his wins came after he raced then-teammate Kevin Harvick a little harder than teammates usually race these days. It’s safe to say the two of them weren’t exactly pals after that incident. Gordon has had run-ins with other drivers, too, including Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle, and was once parked for a Cup race after refusing to take a black flag thrown by NASCAR during a Nationwide race because he disagreed with the ruling.
In short, Robby is a hothead. That, my friends, is much of the reason he will never be as successful in NASCAR as his talent should take him. Being his boss is a chore, and that’s part of the reason he never stuck with one team for too long. From what I can tell, he's probably the only person he'll let tell him what to do.
Though I’m sure part of him wants to be a team owner, he also has to do that because he’s not a model employee and most teams don‘t want to take him on. Top teams like Hendrick, Roush and Gibbs don’t want someone like Robby around, because he’d likely upset their well-maintained apple cart.
In his current situation, owning his own team, Robby will never have any great success at the Cup level. It’s close to impossible in this new era of the superteam, a hard lesson Tony Stewart will learn in the 2009 season when he kicks off his first year as an owner/driver.
But I’d love to see Robby get a shot for one year in a truly great ride and see what he could do.
As far as pure racing talent, I’ll put him up against anyone in that garage -- including Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards -- and it would be interesting to see what he could do in equipment equal to what they drive.
Despite his lack of success in the #7 car (above) in the Cup series, Robby Gordon has overall racing credentials that are hard to match in the Cup garage.
Those who only follow NASCAR probably don’t know this, but Robby Gordon is one of the greatest racecar drivers ever.
That #7 car you see getting lapped every week in the Cup series is being driven by a man with more racing accomplishments than almost all of his competitors, with the exception of Tony Stewart and perhaps a couple others.
A true racer who is truly dedicated to racing and winning, and always hates to give up a spot (just ask any Cup star who has tried to lap him lately), Gordon hurried off to race off-road in the Baja 1000 immediately after the Homestead race ended last week. If he could race every weekend, he would. It’s what he does and he does it very well.
Robby, usually known in NASCAR circles as the “other Gordon,” is the only Gordon most people in the worldwide racing community usually mention when compiling a list of great overall driver talents. For those of you who already think I’m crazy because of Robby’s lack of success in Cup, here are some career stats for you that might change your mind:
-- 6 SCORE International (off-road) championships
-- 3 Baja 1000 wins
-- 3 Dakar Rally stage wins
-- 4 class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona
-- 3 class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring
-- 3 Sprint Cup wins
-- 1 Daytona Twin-125 win
-- 1 Nationwide win
-- 2 CART wins
No one can look at this list and say that Robby is anything but an ace in front of the steering wheel. He’s won in almost every area of motorsport all over the world. But you’ll notice a theme among his accomplishments … they usually involve right turns.
Since making his debut in NASCAR’s top series at the 1991 Daytona 500, Gordon has been in and out of the sport a few times, driving for many different teams (including filling in at Robert Yates Racing immediately after the death of Davey Allison). His most successful period came in the early part of the 2000s, when he drive for Richard Childress Racing and earned three victories.
One was the Thanksgiving week race in New Hampshire which had been postponed after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, and came after he bumped the other Gordon, who was still NASCAR's dominant driver at the time, out of the way to win. The other two came on more familiar territory, road courses, but Gordon seemed to have found a home at Childress and be on the road to stability at the Cup level.
But like any truly great racer, Robby is thickheaded and has certainly pissed off more than a few people in his career. Many feel he races overaggressively on the track, and one of his wins came after he raced then-teammate Kevin Harvick a little harder than teammates usually race these days. It’s safe to say the two of them weren’t exactly pals after that incident. Gordon has had run-ins with other drivers, too, including Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle, and was once parked for a Cup race after refusing to take a black flag thrown by NASCAR during a Nationwide race because he disagreed with the ruling.
In short, Robby is a hothead. That, my friends, is much of the reason he will never be as successful in NASCAR as his talent should take him. Being his boss is a chore, and that’s part of the reason he never stuck with one team for too long. From what I can tell, he's probably the only person he'll let tell him what to do.
Though I’m sure part of him wants to be a team owner, he also has to do that because he’s not a model employee and most teams don‘t want to take him on. Top teams like Hendrick, Roush and Gibbs don’t want someone like Robby around, because he’d likely upset their well-maintained apple cart.
In his current situation, owning his own team, Robby will never have any great success at the Cup level. It’s close to impossible in this new era of the superteam, a hard lesson Tony Stewart will learn in the 2009 season when he kicks off his first year as an owner/driver.
But I’d love to see Robby get a shot for one year in a truly great ride and see what he could do.
As far as pure racing talent, I’ll put him up against anyone in that garage -- including Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards -- and it would be interesting to see what he could do in equipment equal to what they drive.
Views: 110
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Blues on
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Awesome article. I still think that a bad economy could be a great equalizer for RG. He's used to running with minimal budget. Many of the teams he competes with are used to burning cash faster than they can print it, and will struggle as they are forced to operate with fewer resources. 2009 could be good.
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Permalink Reply by FlyHiFlyLo on
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Good point.
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Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on
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I don't see the major teams with intact contracts (HMS, JGR, RCR, etc.) falling off the bus
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Permalink Reply by FlyHiFlyLo on
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The point was... If cash drys up they will be hit way harder than RGM. There are solid sponsors but if one or two major sponsors fall by the wayside on each of the super teams in the next two years it will be a heavy hit. It will interesting to see what happens to JGR's sponsor appeal without a champ in their stable.
If Ford or GM pull the plug it will be a blow.
Collectable sales are also going to take a blow.
Niether of these teeter RG's program.
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Permalink Reply by Ms Gibby on
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And I am just stubborn and hardheaded enough to want to see Robby stick it out and prove everyone wrong by succeeding in Nascar. You have to admit the fact that he has survived thus far is a success in itself, considering the odds against him.
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Permalink Reply by john mcglasson on
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If RG was happy to rest on his past victories he'd have quit after this year. You have to go back pretty far to find RG wins, something I hope changes next year, and I count on RG to get things in the right direction, I just wish he'd do Indy again. Depending on the points situation in May, he should consider missing the Nascar race to do Indy. He's still the best all-arounder, maybe ever.
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Permalink Reply by Blue Ridge Rob on
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As long as he keeps dividing his attention he will not prevail in either arena. I'd like to see him focus completely on NASCAR for a year or two, see what he can do, get a few wins, maybe get in the Chase. Then if he wants, hang it up and go back to the desert since that is what he loves. Just give it all to one venue at a time.
BRR
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Screw that! hauling ass every weekend he can is what it's all about.
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Is it working for him? Is he winning in NASCAR? Is he winning off road? Fly, he's not done real well on short track races. If he wants to be better at that and help his NASCAR career then get him a dirt or asphalt late model and run short tracks around the area (there are plenty of them). That will let him race until his heart's content and help him with a weakness in NASCAR. Or hell, even better, quit all of the above and join the World of Outlaws Late Model circuit and fit in some Lucas Oil, Southern All Stars, and Carolina Clash shows. That would wear out "Robby the racer" even.
LOL, my real point is Robby is too damned good to be finishing where he is finishing at every damn thing. I get so tired of people cracking on him and I tell them he's got more talent..... and blah, blah, blah. They look at me and laugh and say "if he's so good why is he always finishing in the 30's? As much as it pains me they have a point. He may not give a crap but I don't think so. I'd be surprised if he didn't want to win worse than anyone certainly on this board.
RC said that Robby could be a Cup Champ if he focused on driving a Cup car. RC is a damn good judge of talent and a pretty smart fellow. I believe he is right. Potential means you haven't done it yet and Robby hasn't done it yet in NASCAR. Oh, he has scratched the surface but he could whip Jimmie Johnson's butt any day of the week with an equal car. So Fly, my friend (I hope you are), don't you want to see him live up to his potential? I loved the Prelude to the Dream race where he showed what he could do with a good car. I want much much more of that. I think the guy is damned good and I want everybody else to see it too.
BRR
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